The Consequences of Fratricide
by gethsemane342
Summary: The Hunger Games kills more than the tributes: it kills families as well. Three times the brother of the boy from District 3 was no brother at all and the one time he was.
1. Reaper Man

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _The Hunger Games_.

**A/n: **There will be 4 chapters/segments. Updates will be prompt - no more than two days between, hopefully. Please, enjoy.

The Consequences of Fratricide

1) Reaper Man

I hate the City Square. Do you know the only times I come here? For the Reaping and to watch the Hunger Games. Always related to the damn Hunger Games. Every year: standing in a crowd, waiting to be called or watching some poor kid I never met be slaughtered on screen. That's why I hate this place. Hell, it's not really a looker anyway – grey and smoky, just like all of District 3 – but the associations I got with it really drive the nail in the coffin. Pardon the inappropriate reference.

The Reaping's a fitting name. When our Escort reads out the kid's name, the Reaper's come to call. She's a bit of an idiot and she doesn't see that whoever she calls up has just over a week to live. Two if they're lucky. Or unlucky. Not that I would know since I never been called up and, hopefully, never will.

Anyway, I only got two more Reapings to survive. I'm nearly home-free. Not my brother though: Liev's fifteen. Still, we all know I'm the more likely to go. Not only do I have more slips in since I'm the oldest, I'm also the only one who's taken tesserae. Not my brother. Oh, no. Liev's the 'prodigy' of the family. The one who's gonna be earning us money and status in District 3. If one of us has to be killed, it's better that it's me. The best I can do is recite the alphabet backwards in less than ten seconds – which has never been useful for anything other than picking up girls.

OK, once. Not even girls are impressed by it.

Do I sound resentful? This is probably the moment I should start saying that I'm not at all but let's be honest. I am. I love Liev and all but, hell, I'd like some recognition too. Liev and me are _brothers_, not master and servant. Like I said, I love him. But sometimes, I wish he wasn't there. Or that he was less ... him. Less smart.

I mean, the kid bullies _me_! It should be the other way round, really. But as well as being a hell of a lot smarter than I am, he's taller as well.

Anyway, back to the goddamn Reaping. We've been standing here for a while. If I look back a bit, I can see Liev with some of his friends. My own mates are tense. Can't blame them; the only people more likely than us to get picked are the lads in front.

Our Escort walks up to the bowls and, after chattering away at us like it's some sort of celebration, she picks the name of the girl.

"Sulia Davisun."

I watch as a small thirteen year old walks up slowly. I recognise her. I don't know the girl but I know of her. A lot of us in the neighbourhood do. Her brother's in my class and we all know what goes on at their place. Kid gets less food than the rest of us. Always covered in bruises and cuts. I've even heard Ormen Davisun bragging to his equally thuggish friends about raping her once. I wanted to take him on but he'd have flattened me. Besides, what would it have done? She'd have gotten hell at the end of it. There's no one to alert to it and no real proof anyway. Best we can do is try and show her some kindness when we see her around.

"Any volunteers?"

No one says a word. I don't know whether this is good or not. If someone volunteered, her life would be saved. But her home life is so bad that, for her, I reckon death would be better. Some kind of life, where being in the Hunger Games is better than going home.

The woman goes to the second bowl and I tense up a bit. My name's in there. Thirty times. I don't want to die. I don't want to finish what Sulia's family started.

"Liev Otol."

Relief washes over me. Then I realise who she's called. My little brother walks forward, trembling, and climbs onto the stage.

"Would any of you boys like to volunteer?" the woman asks.

Liev looks down at the crowd and I know this is my moment. This is when I'm meant to say "Me!" I'm meant to save Liev – be a good brother. Be a good family member.

But I can't bring myself to do it. I can't just throw my life away. I value it too much. Besides, Liev's got more chance of winning than me.

"OK then," the Escort says and I know I failed. I had my chance to be a good brother. To do the right thing. But I didn't. Because I'm selfish and weak and cowardly. I watch as Liev and Sulia shake hands before being taken away. I walk over to Mom and Dad but when I reach them, I can barely look them in the eye. I'm not the son they want left here. I failed everyone.

What the hell, I don't care about that. Mom and Dad can go to hell – they should be glad they still have a son. That's what I'm telling myself anyway. I'm still saying sorry though. All the way to the Justice Building. And in the room, I'm saying it to Liev, who's telling me not to worry. But I can't look him in the eye either. I've killed him. I killed my own brother. What the hell kind of person am I?

When the Escort reads the name, the Reaper's come to call. Guess that's true enough. But I'm the one who made him come for Liev: guess I'm this year's Reaper Man.


	2. Watchman

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _The Hunger Games_.

**A/n: **There will be 4 chapters/segments. Updates will be prompt - no more than two days between, hopefully. Please, enjoy.

2) Watchman

So things in the house have been pretty damn tense. We spend every damned minute glued to the television. Mom and Dad are talking to me but I can see it in their eyes: they wish I'd volunteered. I'm trying to spend my time with friends instead, who don't wish me dead.

The Games have been going on for a while and, I'm not gonna lie – I'm hopeful. Liev's made it this far. There's already been a lot of brutal deaths. Sulia Davisun died on the first day; Marvel from District 1 killed her. Maybe I was seeing what I wanted to but I'd swear she looked relieved when she died. Whatever, at least she's somewhere where no one can hurt her now. Even if her goddamn brothers and father don't care.

I guess District 3's already lost half its chance. Still, like I said, I'm hopeful. After all, everyone thought Liev would be dead by now. But he's only gone and teamed up with the stronger tributes. Yeah, they could kill him at any time but I know Liev. He'll have a trick up his sleeve. Something brilliant. Hell, I been the victim of his pranks for years. It's about time he expanded.

Annoyingly, I've had school for most of the day and can only see the Games once I get out. I stand in the Square watching one of the bigger screens. Man, I hate this place. But at least I can see my brother here.

Liev's heading back through the forest with the scarier tributes. Cato, Clove and Marvel are arguing about some fire. I look round and see a highlight programme: from the looks of things, the girl from 11 has been making decoy fires. Another screen shows the girl from 12 flying backwards because of an explosion. My heart sinks a bit. The only things in the arena which can cause an explosion are the mines. The ones Liev set up. Something even I can't do, though I'm older. Another sign that my brother's a fricking genius. That he's got it in him to be the next Beetee.

I keep watching, too scared to move, though even now I know that my brother's going to survive. He's got to survive. I can't live with the guilt of killing him. I remember how much I resented him. He can't die. I just got to keep reminding myself that Liev's too smart to die. He's got a plan. He's Beetee in miniature.

They get back to the destroyed food and Cato starts shouting and swearing and ripping out his hair. Liev checks the floor but there are no explosives left. Course not. Liev wouldn't have wanted even the slightest chance that someone would survive. He's a perfectionist. A bit extreme but he's got to do it right. That's just who he is.

And he was wrong, I realise. He needed less mines. He wouldn't have thought of it – he'd have been too absorbed with one goal. I would have, though. I got that thought process – I'd have thought about the stuff. But I wouldn't have been able to rewire the mines anyway so it's a stupid point. Either way, the Otol brothers would not have done well. He didn't even do better than me since the girl got aw-

What! No! No!

RUN! Liev, run! Please, get away. He's going to-

Cato grabs my little brother's neck and twists his arm sharply. Liev falls, his neck broken and a cannon fires. On the highlight screen, they replay it. I watch my brother die again. And again.

No. No. No, please.

So I'm dreaming. That's it. Course that's it. Liev's not dead. I just got to wake up and watch the Games and he'll be fine. Is fine. Since he's not dead.

"Someone catch the boy," I hear a voice say distantly. "He's going to fall."

I feel hands on my back and realise that some guy's propping me up. Why? Am I awake now?

"He's not dead," I say.

"Who?" the guy holding me asks.

"Liev."

The man looks at me carefully. "Do you mean Liev Otol, our male tribute?"

"Course. Who the hell else?" I should be more polite but there's some part of me telling me my brother's been killed and I'm trying to get it to shut up. No energy to spare on manners. Besides, if he'd paid any attention at the beginning, he'd have seen the interview my dad gave about Liev.

"Son ... I'm sorry. He just died." The man's voice is soft. "Did you know him?"

I start to walk away. Lies. The man's got to be lying. Liev can't be dead. I glance up at a screen. The people on it are in slow motion. Liev turns. Cato grabs him and twists. Liev...

Liev dies.

I start shaking. I think I do. I got no idea. The world's spinning but I keep walking. People ask me if I'm OK. I don't reply. How the hell can I reply? I just watched my only brother die. I just killed my brother.

I sent Liev to his death. I watched it happen and I did nothing to stop it. He's dead. He's dead, he's dead and I did it.

And they ask me if I'm _OK_?


	3. Talk Man

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _The Hunger Games_.

**A/n: **There will be 4 chapters/segments. Updates will be prompt - no more than two days between, hopefully. Please, enjoy.

3) Talk Man

The last six months have been hell. First of all, we had to watch the rest of those Games. We had to watch two people win: two people who lied their way to get there. Maybe I'm bitter since Liev lost but I sure as hell didn't want to watch two strangers live when my little brother could have survived. The only good part was that Cato – the bastard who killed Liev – lost. If he'd won, that would have been the worst thing. He'd have come on this tour and we'd have pretended we loved him when all he'd done was kill Liev.

After that we had the goddamn funeral. I'm not good with funerals. I don't know how to act. And seeing him, lying in that simple coffin was torture. I wanted to shake him and tell him to get up already. But dead people don't move. Liev just lay there. My parents were sobbing and I was useless. Couldn't think of a damned thing to say. Couldn't even make a speech about Liev's life. And I could see that at the back of everyone's mind was the idea that _I _should have been the one laying in that coffin. My brother sure as hell would have been able to say something about me.

Trying to get our lives back to normal – what a load of bull. We can't just act like nothing's happened when one person is missing and they're playing Liev's death every other damn day. Mom's been on the edge of a breakdown several times and Dad just crushes whatever he's holding when he sees it. And I can't act like a better son if all we see is what should have happened to me. Hell, even the house isn't normal. We kept his room the same. Like we're expecting him to walk in one day and continue his inventing. I even look over my shoulder for a prank that will never happen.

But you know the biggest joke? The biggest joke is today. The damn Victory Tour with Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark coming to stand in front of us and with us watching them. Being alive. I hate them. I hate them and the Capitol.

I guess hatred of the Capitol is a pretty mutual thing around here but recently, it's been getting bigger. I heard whispers that Everdeen and Mellark's stunt was an act of rebellion. That we need to rebel. I'm for that. Even if Cato killed my brother, even if I killed him, the one thing which definitely murdered him was the Capitol. I don't know what the hell District 12's berry thing was – except there was no way it was because she was in love with him – but if there's a way for me to avenge my brother's death, I'm sure as hell taking it.

So we're sitting in this square and the pair come up and start their speeches. Things in the square are tense. I already spoke to my friends and we all agreed if there's any way to cause trouble, we got to do it. We got to show the Capitol pigs that we're not happy. That they killed off too many of us. Even if I got to side with Everdeen and Mellark.

Their speeches are standard stuff. Boring. All the time, I'm thinking: when are we going to do it? I can hear the crowd buzzing angrily. I saw the speeches in District 11 – there was something more to them, that's for sure. Someone did or said something. We need that here.

Mellark says nothing about Liev. That's wrong. The victors are meant to mention their allies. Maybe Liev _had_ to make the mines and maybe Mellark was just tricking all the tributes but they were still on the same team at one point. It's thanks to Everdeen that the mines even went off and got Liev killed. The least Mellark could do is say something about him.

I glare at him and at her and at all the Peacekeepers. If I got up now and started making trouble, what could happen? I'd be shot – so what? I got nothing to lose. I should get up. Expose Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen. Point out what crap the Capitol has done to us. I should start the next rebellion. At least make it known we're unhappy. What the hell are we doing but muttering angrily? That's not going to solve anything.

I would be doing right by Liev. Showing I remember him. Make it clear that his death is to be avenged.

The speeches end and the pair leave the stage.

What was that about? I had my chance – I had a chance! I could have started something. I could have lived up to what I'm meant to do. And what did I do? Nothing. Goddamn nothing. I let them all get away.

My dad and mom have started to walk away. I follow numbly. As I leave the square, I hear a shout from one of my friends.

"Emre, you alright?"

I turn and glare at him. "Sure, I'm just great. You saw all that, didn't you?"

"Calm down, mate."

I breathe in deeply and unclench my fist.

"What the hell happened to our idea? We did nothing."

"We couldn't have done anything, Emre." He gives me a strange look. "It was just talk, you know that. What could we have done?"

"I'm going home," I reply and break into a run.

_It was just talk_.

Just talk? Is that for idle ears or is that the truth? What the hell, I know what it was. We did nothing: it was just talk. Maybe I wanted action then but I sure as hell didn't follow through. My life meant more to me than my brother's and every other kid who's died in the Games. I'm low. I'm all bark and no bite.

Just like everyone else in this goddamn district.


	4. Late Man

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _The Hunger Games_.

**A/n: **Last one. Hope you enjoy :)

4) Late Man

You know, it's funny. Even though I hate the victors from District 12, I feel sorry for them. The Quarter Quell was cruel: the idea of going in the arena once scares the hell out of me. I reckon going in twice would have driven me mad. No one deserves that. Course, I feel way sorrier for our district's victors. Beetee and Wiress are old – they have no chance of winning.

Quell's only been going on for a few days but there're hardly any of them left. We're watching but the only thing I can think of is that it's nearly a year since Liev died. Was killed. Murdered. This year has been complete torture. Every day, I see something which reminds me of my brother. Something to tell me I really screwed up this time.

And, of course, there's the rest of my family. Maybe some families stick together in times of need but not ours. It's not just that my parents can't look at me in the same way but they barely know what to say to each other. Hell, we were never close but what we had with Liev was better than what we have now. Hours of silence. Geez, I spend as much time as I can working in the factory just so I don't have to go back. And Dad's been doing it too. And Mom. Anything to avoid facing each other.

So, things in the district have also gotten pretty tense. You can see it wherever you are. We already had a few clashes with the Peacekeepers. Not me personally but people. I haven't done anything yet. I will – course I will – but it hasn't been the right time. Or been the right place. Or maybe I haven't run out of ways to lie to myself about what a coward I am. But all these clashes and executions ... something's gonna happen. Something which is gonna annoy the Capitol. And if I can, I'm going to be in the middle of it.

Sure. One day, I'm going to stop lying to myself. Maybe when I stop thinking about Liev.

Anyway, I been hearing the familiar rumbles since the Quell started. People getting mad about what the Capitol have done to us. Beetee and Wiress were signs that we can escape the crap they call our lives and now they're telling us we got no escape. But today it's getting really loud. Almost like it's unbearable. I wonder how long it can last for.

Suddenly, there's this bang outside and Dad shouts for us to get down as the window smashes. My heart's thumping like it's trying to leave my chest. What's going on? I look round, checking my parents are alright. They look as surprised as I feel.

"What the fu-"

"Emre, language," Dad interrupts. I think it's automatic – if there was ever a time to be less than polite, it's now.

"Well, what's going on?" I ask again.

"How should I know?" he snaps. I roll my eyes and stand up carefully. Mom grabs at my ankle but I shake her off. One of us needs to find out what the hell's going on. If they won't, I will. I look round. There's people outside, yelling and waving things. Gunshots. The window is smashed and some of the wall is crumbling.

We need to get out. Now.

I turn back to my parents. "Come on," I shout. "They're causing hell out there and if we stay here, the next explosion's gonna kill us." My parents look at me dumbly. "Come on!"

Warily, they stand up and we run for the door. Once we're outside, we're greeted by more chaos. Everywhere, people are destroying things. Peacekeepers are shooting at us. I almost regret making us leave the building when another explosion takes out our wall and the house next to us.

I hope Pictor and his daughter got out OK...

Dad grabs my arm and begins to drag me away but we're stopped by two burly guys with guns.

"Who are you fighting for?" shouts the guy on the left.

"No one," my dad replies firmly.

"So you're on the Capitol's side."

"No. We're on no one's side."

I look at them. This is it. A rebellion. Hell, it looks better than the ones before – we have guns! Maybe...

"Come on, Emre."

"I can't let you just go," one of the men says. My dad tries to square up to him but it doesn't work.

"We're not going to help the Capitol," he says. "We've already lost one son. We just want to be safe."

We've already lost one son...

Isn't this what I always said? Revenge. I need to avenge Liev. Sure, I say I'm waiting for the right time but I know I'll never find it. They lost one son. And we have to make them that caused it pay.

"I'll let your wife go-"

"You'll let us all go."

"I'll stay," I say. "Let my parents go. I'll stay and fight."

"No, Emre. You are coming with us."

"If the lad wants to fight-"

"He's only doing it because you're making him."

"No, Dad. I'm staying. I got to. I got to get revenge for Liev. I want to help." I turn to the men. "Let them go and I'll come."

"Cabel, let 'em go," the other man says. "We haven't got time for this. Just keep the lad."

Cabel scowls but nods. I turn to my parents. "See you soon."

"Emre, don't do this."

"I got to. For Liev. I got to make them pay."

Cabel grabs my shoulder and makes me run before my parents can do anything else. I don't look back. Guess we ended on some type of family love. Whatever the hell kind. Maybe Dad will say he lost both sons now but truth is, they lost me when Liev died. Or I lost them. Either way, I'm doing what has to be done. And if I die, it don't matter: I'm making everyone who killed Liev pay. The Capitol. Cato's already dead. And then it's me or Katniss. But probably me.

Cabel gives me a gun and shouts orders at me. I run towards the nearest Peacekeepers. This is it. This is what I should have done for Liev a long time ago. This is the brother I should have been.

Better late than never.

_Fin_


End file.
